Hanoi to host signing ceremony of UN Convention against cybercrime

At the briefing, Major General Le Xuan Minh, head of the Ministry of Public Security’s Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention, revealed the alarming scale of cyber threats facing Vietnam.

“Over the past year, there were an estimated more than 100,000 cyber incidents, including attacks targeting critical systems and enterprises,” Minh said.

“We are witnessing a shift from small-scale, individual attacks to well-organized, transnational operations.”

He added that the most prevalent forms of cybercrime now involve cross-border online fraud schemes that connect criminal networks across multiple countries, posing serious risks to both governments and economies.

To combat these threats, Vietnam has stepped up cooperation with international law enforcement agencies and enhanced its legal frameworks for cybercrime prevention.

According to Major General Minh, the Hanoi Convention will create a new legal framework for global collaboration, enabling countries to share intelligence, investigate and prosecute cybercriminals, and conduct extradition and asset recovery in accordance with international law.

“We aim to build a cyberspace that serves peace, security, and sustainable development,” Minh affirmed.

To implement the convention effectively, the Ministry of Public Security is reviewing and revising domestic laws to align with the convention’s requirements.

These include proposed amendments to the Law on Cybersecurity, expected to be presented to the country’s law-making National Assembly this October, as well as updates to criminal procedure laws to facilitate data sharing, information exchange, and cross-border cooperation.

Vietnam also plans to establish a 24/7 coordination mechanism to ensure rapid communication with international counterparts, as required by the convention.

Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Hoang Giang, who previously served as Vietnam’s Permanent Representative to the UN during the negotiation process, highlighted the historical importance of the agreement.

First proposed in 2019, the Hanoi Convention was officially adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 24, 2024, following 30 months of negotiations taking place from February 2022 to August 2024.

Vietnam played a leading and coordinating role throughout the process, hosting multiple rounds of dialogue and proposing key principles such as respect for national sovereignty in cyberspace and international cooperation, which received broad international support.

“This is the first time a UN convention bears the name of a Vietnamese city,” Giang noted.

“It reflects global recognition of Vietnam’s contributions to international law and multilateral diplomacy.”

He emphasized that the Hanoi Convention’s adoption elevates Vietnam’s role within the UN and reaffirms the country’s commitment to addressing non-traditional security challenges.

As of October 6, nearly 100 countries and more than 100 international and regional organizations had registered to attend the signing ceremony and high-level conference scheduled for October 25-26 in Hanoi.

The two-day program will feature opening and closing sessions, a formal signing ceremony, a plenary discussion, four high-level policy dialogues, and four roundtable exchanges.

Both State President of Vietnam Luong Cuong and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres are expected to deliver keynote speeches during the opening session.